The Hill of the Thunder
Japanese
There is a tradition handed down from ancient times in Yamato (Nara Prefecture) about the 'Hill of the Thunder'.
Long, long ago, His Majesty the Emperor Yuryaku was in his palace and taking a nap after he had finished his busy job. After a while, there was a tremendous clap of thunder with a sudden shower. It was such an earsplitting thunderclap that he was woken up from his nap.
Staring up at the dark sky, he shouted,
"Be quiet! My fellows, is there anybody that would dare to get rid of the noisy thunder?"
Receiving the order, one of his favorite followers said to him,
"I can do it, Your Majesty."
"Is it true? Can you catch the thunder alive which is now rumbling?"
"Of course, I can."
"If you say so, bring it here immediately!"
"Certainly, Your Majesty!"
He put a red headband on his head, and started toward Mt. Kagu on horseback, where he jumped off the horse and cried to the thunder in the sky.
"Listen to me, Thunder! His Majesty is calling you!"
He sat astride the horse again to return to the palace. On his way back, he said to himself, looking up at the sky,
"Even if it is thunder, it will be unable to neglect His Majesty's order."
Just then, terrible thunders pealed out above him.
He closed his eyes in an instant and then opened them. What he found on the ground in front of him was the thunder lying down!
"The thunder has fallen down!"
Several villagers rushed out of their houses.
"Give me a hand catching the thunder alive!" he asked them.
He plunged it into a big cage made of bamboo and carried it into the palace with the help of the villagers.
"I finally succeeded in bringing the thunder alive!"
The Emperor, who had thought it impossible to catch it alive, appeared in front of them with curiosity. Being surrounded by the people, the thunder felt uneasy and started rumbling and flashing. The Emperor felt so much pity that he ordered his men to take it back with many offerings to the place where it had fallen down.
Several years later, the brave follower, who had caught the thunder alive, suddenly died. The Emperor was so grieved at his death and buried him on the hill where he had caught the thunder, and set up a fine huge wooden monument for him, on which it was written like this;
The Grave of the Hero who caught the Thunder
The thunder, looking at the grave monument, got very angry.
"How rude human beings are saying 'caught the thunder'!"
It descended from the heavens to the hill, thundering and lightening. In addition, it stamped and kicked the grave and the monument. But as it was doing that fiercely, it got its body caught in a split of the wooden monument.
"Ouch!"
It twisted its body with intolerable pain, but couldn't pull itself out of the split. Soon several villagers came there to see it struggling.
"Hey! The thunder is being caught again!" the rumor spread immediately.
Many people gathered there to see the sight of it.
It reached the Emperor, who felt sorry for the thunder again and ordered his men to help it out from the split of the monument and go back to the heavens.
The Emperor set up a much finer huge grave for the dead fellow and wrote on it like this;
The Grave of the Great Hero who caught the Thunder
Not only in his life but in his death
Soon the place was called 'The Hill of the Thunder'. (2013.7.1)
